[Jedi Mission] Tug of War

[Radiwalker]

Jaina had undertaken a very delicate mission. One that would not only have her determin the fates of two planets, whilst developing her skills and abilities, but also allow her the opportunity to save a great many lives and unravel a mysterious plot that might just be more devious than it seems. Of course, considering the delicacy of the mission, she was not to undertake it on her own. The knight was to be accompanied by two others, whom she had not yet had the pleasure of meeting.

The girl was dressed in the traditional jedi robes. Her hair was running straight down her back, with her red banks falling on her forehead. Her purple eyes were shining with determination. She felt ready for the responsibility of such a mission and felt confident that she and her allies would be successful. The girl was waiting for said allies in the hanger bay from where they were to depart to Kiffex. Their shuttle was being prepared as she waited...

 

[Insoulent]

"Master Jedi." he said before bowing before the Jedi Knight he'd be accompanying to the Kiffu Sector. The Mirialan scout exited from his Lambda-class Shuttle, dressed in his usual attire with a shoulder cape covering his right side and holster holding his DL-44, a weapon he rarely ever used, to meet with the Jedi as the preparations to leave were set. Zasm's ship was registered as a Galactic Surveyor since the Fall of Coruscant, the Galaxy would still believe Zasm was a simple civilian planet explorer since the destruction of the Alliance that once employed him, and as such, could easily move throughout enemy space without any suspicion. The situation was a delicate one, from what he was told. One of Zasm's foremost skills was diplomacy, given his time from traveling to various planets and visiting different cultures, he had a knack for controlling his body language and tone of voice rather well, and did good when it came to speaking with even the most twisted diplomat. That's why he was attached to this mission, well that and he was the leader of the Antarian Rangers, a group which focused itself on aiding the Jedi in their endeavors, one of which was restoring the good image of the Jedi. With Zasm's help, he hoped this mission would help the Jedi out greatly.

Unfortunately for the team of Jedi, they had to keep most of their operation undercover until they were done, being so close to Imperial Territory, if they were found out, they would be in quite the trouble. Zasm himself would have to worry about keeping the Jedi's identities hidden, though that feat itself was going to be hard. Still it wasn't impossible. Zasm's current idea was that each one of them would take one aspect of the mission: one of the Jedi to investigate the poisonings origin, while the other two would meet with the leadership to see if there was any way to find a peaceful solution to the increasing signs of war, if at all possible sway the Kiffu away from the Imperial alignment they've been leaning towards.

Still, he didn't know exactly who he was working with yet, or if they were even qualified to investigate or speak diplomatically with others. Were they not, they'd be in a bit more trouble and even slowed down because of it. Still, from his recollection, there was to be two Jedi he would be accompanying, not one. "Zasm al-Muttalib. Miss Jaina, correct?" he questioned, as the other Jedi was a male, the female from his first impression was she looked gentle, but not in a pushover way. She still had a spark in her eyes, one that spoke to Zasm, it let him know she could have the potential to be wreckless, but by the way she stood, her posture told otherwise. Still, for a human...Hell, a Jedi, she was quite attractive. Still, a diplomatic mission wasn't exactly a place to stir any romance, he barely knew the girl anyway. "The transport's ready, co-ordinates have even been locked in, once the last member of our trio arrives, we'll be clear to go. If you wish we could wait inside for him." he said, motioning the girl to follow him into his ship. Kelly's Grace, the last reminder of his past life. A simpler, much more adventurous time, but one honestly less fulfilling. Recently, he'd actually come accustomed to his new life, and he seemed to enjoy it much more.

 

[Radiwalker]

"A pleasure." Jaina retorted to the introduction, while she considered the man standing before her. He was a mirialan, a species she was not well acquainted with, so she knew not what to expect from him. Nevertheless, she could tell he was a calculative person. His blue eyes contrasted well with his green skin and gave off a pleasant vibe. His gorgeous dark hair outlined his face and easily caught her attention. But she did not allow her impressions to appear in her body language, she kept her thoughts to herself.

"Punctuality is the second nature of the jedi, my friend. If our counterpart has not arrived by now then he has been delayed and considering the delicate and urgent nature of our mission, I believe it would be best if we did not wait for him, but rather take off and hope he catches up in due time." she led the way onto the shuttle that had been prepared. She wasted little time in walking across the short space of the inside of the ship and took the pilot's seat while offering the other to her counterpart. "Seeing as you've just flown in, it is only fair that I take control of this ship and you get some rest, wouldn't you agree?" the girl smiled as she had the ramp of the shuttle retracted and started up the engines.

After waiting the appropriate time for them to heat up, she lifted the shuttle off and retracted the landing aids after which she guided the shuttle out of the hanger and blasted towards space. In mere seconds they flew out the planet's atmosphere and then jumped to hyperspeed. The familiar blue lines surrounded the hull, as the girl turned to her counterpart, now able to relieve herself of control of the ship. "What do you make of the situation that we are about to engage in?"

She knew what she made of it. There were two matters to be addressed and both were very delicate. What she didn't know was how a jedi and a jedi lover would be received in such an environment, especially considering the planet's wish of affiliating with the Empire. Jaina feared not for her safety, for she was confident in her ability to survive. What she feared for was the integrity of the mission.

 

[Insoulent]

While under normal circumstances he probably would of protested to wait for the fellow Jedi but given the situation being dire, the Mirialan agreed. The Jedi were taught to be punctual, after all. "I do need some rest. Just know the throttle is a bit off, she's hauling a'bit of cargo." he explained. Unlike most smugglers or pirates, while Zasm held pride for his ship, he wasn't the type of man to be sensitive about it. Maybe the whole "no possession" lesson kind of stuck within Zasm, or he simply never really care for materials things, either way he wasn't possessive like other ship owners. He simply smiled, reclining in his co-pilots chair glad to finally have a bit of rest. With handling day-to-day operations, making sure the Jedi have the right amount of food to challenge the increasing numbers, making sure his men were on schedule with repairing the base, to making sure schedules were set, getting away from it all for a while would be sort of like a vacation from it all.

"One thing I'll say off the bat..." he said inhaled a bit, "I don't think you should flaunt that Lightsaber. I mean unless it's completely necessary. The less attention we bring to ourselves the better. Their Imperial-loving will force us to conceal our true nature for a while. We have to investigate the source of the poison and rotten food first, I think before we meet with the Governor of Kiffu. The spaceport we'll be docking at will be spaceport the food transports use, so we should try and sneak in and see where the food is coming from. From there, we go to view the food to see what exactly is going on. With our evidence we could take it to the Governor. I only pray he isn't involved, trying to genocide his own kind? It truly is Imperial-worthy." the Mirialan said with a foul taste in his mouth. "I can talk us out of most situations and cause some distractions for you should you need it, too. And of course speak with the Governor when the time comes." the Scout finished as he turned to the Jedi woman he was helping. "You wouldn't happen to be handy with mind powers would you?" he asked curiously.

 

[Radiwalker]

"They're my speciality," Jaina spoke back. "I'll make sure to hide my lightsaber, no need for unwanted attention, or trouble, for that matter. As for the investigation, I have a feeling you'd be better at sneaking around, I can cause a distraction and, hopefully, easily follow you. Even if I don't manage to, however, you'd be able to conduct the investigation on your own, as you seem more competent in this kind of thing than me." There was no denying it, as much as she knew about healing and wounds and injuries, she knew little about poisons.

There was, however, still something else troubling her. "I fear the matter may not be as we perceive it to," she said, with concern ringing in her voice. "I don't think either side would have gone as far as poisoning the food for whatever reason. Of course, this could be my mind playing tricks on me, but I sense there has been intervention from the outside and if that's true, things become more complicated, but with a simpler solution." Jaina thought it'd be best if they were prepared for every scenario and that simply wasn't impossible, so the second best thing was to consider the best and the worst case scenario, that way, at least they'd have an idea of what they could do, once the full picture has been unraveled.

The ship came out of hyperspace and Jaina navigated it towards the planet's surface and more specifically, the designated spaceport. She landed gracefully and after making sure her lightasber hilt was well concealed underneath her robes, she looked to her counterpart and gestured to him to take the lead. "Perhaps you should take head until we locate where the good is being stored, then I can cause a distraction and you can conduct the investigation, after which we shall contemplate on how to proceed, depending on your findings. Agreed?" It was the best plan Jaina could think of, but she was certainly open to suggestions.

 

[Insoulent]

Zasm was glad he was given a rather competent Jedi, with a good head on her shoulders. He was also glad she had the right skill sets to alter any would-be suspected away from their investigation. Partially, he was glad he wasn't the only one thinking, as most Jedi he met in his day-to-day activity were usually with their heads in the clouds oblivious to that around them, yet this woman was focused on the severity of the mission at hands. Zasm did realize he probably would do better in the infiltration.

Once they arrived in the spaceport Zasm simply smiled. "You know why I brought my ship?" he said as he walked out of the ship, leading the Knight out, going to the other side of the wing. "The giant wing blocks most cameras." he mentioned, as he looked at the direction of the top "fin" of his Lambda-class shuttle, as the camera of the ship was blocked. "You should go ask the local port authority to ask them about the current situation, tell them you're an independent holofilm maker. I think that's a good cover..." he said as he walked over to the vent shafts at the edge of the wall, grunting a bit as he tried to take the cage off. "There's a prowler-1000 droid at the end of the ship, he's a scout droid, but he can act as my eyes and ears for you while you're walking around. He can record and scout areas ahead for you if you might need it. Try and get some information on who's in charge and who we need to talk to." he mentioned as he crawled into the small shaft. "Just keep their attention off me in the meantime. We'll meet back when I find something out." the Mirialan Scout said finally as he placed the vent's cover back on. And with that, he was gone.

It was hot, despite it being a vent shaft for air to pass through, it seemed it wasn't designed to be blocked by a humanoid being, but Zasm continued to move on by, crawling as he pulled his datapad located on his wrist, checking the floor maps. He was a few meters away from the food distribution area, but a few meters in the small crawlspace was daunting. He wiped the sweat from his face, and continued his journey. Oh the things he'd do for the Jedi.

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina followed the man off the ship. He seemed quite eager to take matters into his own hands, which only meant that he was capable. The girl liked that, but didn't allow herself to be distracted. He had to do his part and she had to do hers, both were important, for even though his was more essential, hers was going to keep him alive.

She had liked the ship very much. It had been easy to control and hadn't caused any problems. The additional benefit Zasm mentioned only worked to contribute to her positive feelings. It was, however, not until she heard about the droid that Jaina had a smile cross her face. She was beginning to like this man. He had quickly formed a plan of action, which offered her many opportunities on how to carry out her part of the mission.

She gave the man a short nod and watched him crawl into the shaft and close it from the inside. May the Force be with you, was the thought that ran through her head as she casually walked back into the ship and found the droid. She activated it and simply commanded it to follow her lead. She had quite a liking for droids and knew they were very cooperative. What was more, if provided with good guidelines they often performed better than humans. Especially in situations like this.

The knight led the way off the ship once more and headed towards the exit of the docking bay, where she was greeted by a few guards, asking for identification and purpose. She smiled as she spoke back. "I'm Jaina, an independent journalist and I heard some rumors about a some disturbing conflict between Kiffex and Kiffu." The guard eyed her up suspiciously, after which he yelled back. "Get of our planet scum! You won't get your dirty gossip here!" It was clear that the situation was very fragile. Jaina thought she might be able to get herself out of this situation with words, but then she might blow her cover of a journalist. This man was simply too biased to be able to help her with her investigation and distraction.

She waved her hand at the guard and spoke in a calm and casual manner. "You will take me to your commanding officer and tell them that I am here to get the whole story of the conflict, so it may be conveyed across the galaxy. You will convince them to grant me an audience." The guard repeated her words and then had her follow him. Jaina gave a simple nod to the droid, who followed her. After a short walk, the trio got into an elevator and the guard pressed a button to take them up. Once they reached the desired floor, which seemed to be nothing more than a simple office for the guards to pass time between their shifts and during their breaks. "Wait here," the guard said as he pointed to a couch near the elevator and then headed down the hallway, entering the door at the very bottom. Jaina patiently took seat and crossed her legs in a womanly manner. . . she had to look the part.

 

[Insoulent]

OOC: typing from my phone, internet isn't working at home. apologies for length. It all looks long from my phone.

Zasm crawled through the vent shafts, eventually making his way to the center of where the food was stored. Most of the staff there were droids, or drones more like, but headed by a few Kiffar who were more than likely the officers. As the Scout pushed himself out from the narrow vents, his view was blocked by a stack of crates. He snuck easily, using the shadows and corners of the stacks of food as protection as he maneuvered through the facility. "I'm made it..." he muttered into his com link. The Mirialan was looking for the specific boxes claimed "Kiffex", though various surrounding planets were listed.

After some searching, there was nothing claimed for the planet. Either their shipment had already taken off, or the food was transplanted somewhere else, maybe to keep the other food from being contaminated. That was Zasm's line of thought, at least. He looked around for a door, but found only two, one to the exit and one to another port one level below him. It was much smaller than the top port, a closet compared to the giant warehouse of food he was in. Still, he had to get to the bottom of it, so he took the route down to the smaller storehouse, though he wasn't prepared to see what he was about to witness.

As the doors of the turbo lift opened, the Kiffar inside had on safety suits, too busy to turn back and look at the Mirialan, as he slid behind a stack of boxes of fresh food, or so he thought. "Don't forget to spray them all, and don't inhale this stuff for any reason."[/b] the man said, as they continue to spray the food with some odd chemical. Zasm quickly covered his mouth in fear that he might of already inhaled some, but it seemed his fear was right, as he began to cough a bit, bringing forth attention to himself. Bantha Poodoo[/b]. He didn't take any time to stay, rushing to the turbo lift once again, getting away from the chemical suited men.

As he rose to the top of the facility, and made his way to the exit, not caring anymore if he was seen or not, because he had already had. His green skin wouldn't make him hard to spot out either on a planet full of Kiffars. "So... Problem. I got evidence, just uh...we need to meet soon. There's a cantina for spacers somewhere around the spaceport. Meet me there when you can." he spoke into the com link as he rushed out of the spaceport, hoping to avoid any of those men who he saw.

 

[Apocrypha]

He had been in the field for a long time. Months, he suspected, though - truth be told - he was having difficulty keeping track of time these days. He would soldier on, of course; reclined in the cockpit seat of his fighter, Starbuck, the young Jedi had slipped into a meditative trance to pass the time spent in hyperspace traveling to Kiffex. As wounds sustained from his previous mission slowly began to set and heal, Rorik mulled over his own tenuous connection to the Kiffar people - a woman he had known, though one he hadn't seen in some time now, a mixed-species bounty hunter. Their relationship was confusing, to say the least, and perhaps the closest that Rorik had ever been to any sort of 'passion' for a member of the opposite sex.

Sadly, there was a war on, and it demanded every bit of his attention. In more peaceful times, he might be able to settle down somewhat, and find a woman that he loved; right now, he was more concerned with ducking blaster shots and avoiding Imperial forces and the Sith alike. Particularly given his more covert role within the order - he had to admit that, while such a commission had given him access to improved training in various arenas, it had also lead to his participation in far more missions in which his life was in jeopardy. Not quite tit for tat, he felt.

Nonetheless

"STARBUCK, STARBUCK, HALT COURSE FOR DOCKING, PREPARE FOR INTERCEPT AND ESCORT. I REPEAT, PREPARE FOR INTERCEPT AND ESCORT."

Rorik jolted from his reverie, his eyes focusing forward out of the canopy on two fighters and a lead interceptor hurtling towards him through space. Weighing his options, Rorik decided that he would be hard pressed to escape from his pursuers - and, furthermore, it would be handy to know why he was being escorted... and where he was being escorted to. "Understood," Rorik said into his comm system. "Starbuck standing by for escort."

* * *​

Starbuck came to a graceful landing in a clearing just outside of the nearby city. Thinking better of its presence, Rorik stashed his lightsaber in a hidden compartment just beneath the angle of attack accelerometer, above the gyroscopic stabilizer readout. With that, he hauled a gunbelt out from behind his seat and opened the canopy, climbing out onto the nose of Starbuck as he tied the leather belt about his hips, adjusting the heavy blaster therein.

"Freeze!"

"Don't move!"

Rorik came to a stop, hands on his belt, and slowly glanced up; the three ships that had escorted him were in the process of landing, and, in the meantime, a detachment of armed soldiers had been sent to greet him. With a frown and an exasperated sigh, Rorik raised his hands, his gunbelt slipping his waist and coming to a clanking stop atop the Starbuck.

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina didn't have to wait long before the man returned. But during her wait, something else caught her attention. Two officers, standing not too far from her, were discussing a ship that had been landed just outside the city and the pilot was being escorted in for questioning. She didn't hear why the pilot had been detained, but she heard the name of the ship - Starbuck. It was a strange name for a ship and one thing was certain. It was not a ship from these regions. Someone, a traveler, or worse, had come to the planet. But who and why now? Could it be the other jedi that was supposed to join her on the mission? Or was it someone with darker intentions?

Whatever the case she had little time to contemplate upon it, as the man she had tricked with the Force soon returned and told her that his boss was out of office, but he could get her in for an interview later, when he returned. At the same moment Jaina's commlink rang in her ear with the latest message from her counterpart, asking her to join him in a cantina. "I'll be in the spacers' cantina, find me there when your superior returns," she said with a smile, making sure to retain the mind trick on the man. He nodded and watched her get up and walk out of the room.

Jaina suspected she would be watched, or followed, for even though she had tricked one of the guards, there were many others, who would not be so foolish to simply let a reporter wander about unchecked. With that thought in mind, she kept a steady slow pace. She didn't waste energy in looking around, or looking worried. Instead she focused on appearing confident.

As she entered the cantina she brushed her hand through her hair and for a slight moment touched her commlink and whispered "I might be watched, don't approach me, use the commlink." She then approached the bar and ordered a jawa juice, taking a seat in plain sight, while looking around for her counterpart. Once she saw him, she would easily establish a telepathic link and use that to speak to him rather than the commlink, which would raise suspicion in those who were keeping an eye on her.

 

[Apocrypha]

Strip-searched and hauled bodily - and at least half-naked - into a dank, dark cell, before being strung up from the rigid, callous bars that lined the ceiling of his new luxury cell was, unsurprisingly, not how Rorik had intended to spend his time on Kiffu. His throat burned for water, his stomach ached for food, and his eyes wept for rest - but more than anything, he wanted to know why the Kiffar had detained him, and, more importantly, what they planned to do with him. He was unlucky in his attempts to garner any information, however; the guards detaining, searching, and escorting him had not uttered one syllable in his direction since he had landed Starbuck on the outskirts of town.

However, he only had a few brief moments to mull over the situation before the door to the cell screeched open and an imposingly muscular - if somewhat short - man entered the room, bearing the fiery red blazons of his tribe's tattoos. "Who are you?" he demanded roughly as the door shut behind him, sizing Rorik up with narrow, mistrustful eyes, hands clasped behind his back.

"Not much for small talk, large-and-in-charge?" Rorik quizzed, grinning wanly.

A swift, breath-taking, vision blurring blow to his abdomen wiped the smile from Rorik's face. He maintained his dignity, however, and took only a brief moment to regain his composure before rising to full height once more, steely cold gaze boring into his captor's eyes.

"What," the man began, grasping the small pendant-necklace dangling from Rorik's necks in his hand, "is this?" He turned it over, eyeing it for a moment with a frown freezing his lips in place. "This bears a clan's qukuuf," he remarked idly, lost in thought. "I know - surely not..."

"It was a gift from a friend," Rorik asserted, tugging his neck back in an attempt to free the pendant from his captor's grasp. This, however, angered him; the beefy man tore the necklace from the Jedi's neck. "It was stolen," he surmised, "and it will be returned to whosoever remains to accept its burden."

"Give it back to me and release me," Rorik demanded. The man laughed. The Jedi set about to choke that laugh out:

With startling agility and brutality - particularly given his current underfed and haggard state - Rorik drew himself up into the air by his wrists and coiled his legs against his chest, driving his heels into the interrogator's chest and launching him across the room. The Kiffar bounced off of the bulkhead and back towards Rorik's reach; the Jedi wasted no time in wrapping his thighs about the tattoo'd bully's throat, seizing his supply of oxygen and robbing him of it deftly. With a few terse moments of struggle, fits of defiance faded into bursts of incomprehension, transitioned into a limp, unconscious interrogator between his legs; Rorik dropped the man unceremoniously to the ferrocrete floor of his cell, going about the business of snatching a set of keys from his utility belt as gracefully as was possible with his feet.

Shortly thereafter, Rorik found himself standing over the man's body, rubbing his sore wrists before checking the man's pulse; he was alive, though sincerely down for the count. He wouldn't be awake for a few hours, at least, though the Jedi suspect somebody would find him long before then. He snatched up a stun baton from the officer's belt holster, as well as a keycard, before sidling up to the door and rapping upon it three times.

The two Kiffar opened the locked-from-the-outside hatch for who they presumed to be their commanding officer, and were met instead with a rapidfire beating, the baton in Rorik's trained hands shattering collarbone and shoulder alike, moving on to the knees to immobilize, and finally - and more gently - to the temple, stealing consciousness from his would-be containers with as little fuss and muss as was possible.

So he was free. Soon, however, he would be pursued - perhaps now was a good time to find the exit.

 

[Insoulent]

Making his way into the Cantina known as "Larv's Bar", the Mirialan scout was glad to see very few Kiffar there. It was one of the few places where non-Kiffars could be seen in such abundance. "No tattoos in sigh..." he thought as he walked in. The cantina had this aggressive loud and rather unpleasant music began playing in background. It wasn't really his cup of tea, but he was sure his younger adoptive brother Xansi would probably had loved it. Most of the crowd seemed to ignore the loud music, which must of been a usual type of music played there, therefore the Mirialan opted to try and tune it out as he went order himself a drink, Blue Milk.

He turned around to look at the variety of beings that inhabited the cantina, scanning the crowded area for an open table and was lucky enough to find him. Within moments a hooded figure appeared at the table, as his black cloak kept most of his featured hidden. The Scout grew nervous, almost uncomfortable at the sight, "Yes?" he questioned nervously, as the hood simply moved left and right as if looking for anyone behind it. "You're hiding from the Guardians, aren't you?" the hooded figure's deep, gruff voice said, as Zasm slowly placed his drink back on the table. "I don' know what you're talking about, I really--" he was cut off almost instantly as the man lifted his head to reveal his facial features. A golden stripe cutting through his face. "I'm Mythris Vos, I'm a Kiffu Guardian." the man said in a low whisper as he leaned in so that the man could hear him barely over he loud music.

Vos. While Zasm wasn't familiar with the planet system, he knew the name well. Vos were one of the most influential Kiffar families, and they held an immense level of power in both planets, this was almost common knowledge to anyone who knew of the Kiffars. A famous Jedi Master known as Quinlan Vos was from this family, and one of Zasm' personal favorite heroes from the Clone Wars. He was almost in disbelief that this man that sat infront of him was from the famous family, and had to contain himself from jumping up in excitement. He simply nodded, to inform the Kiffar that he understood. "I'm from the planet Kiffex, assigned to try and find out what exactly is going on, but given my status and name, it's quite hard to get any answers or leads for that matter. But you, you have that look in your eye... you know something, don't you?" he said, as the Mirialan grabbed his drink, ingesting it in one quick gulp, nodding to him nervously. The Kiffar looked at him before he held both hands out. "Give me your hand." he stated, as the Mirialan hesitated. Could he truly trust him? He looked around he cantina to see no one watching him, or his lady friend in sight. With no other option, he nodded, and slid his hand out, as the Kiffar clasped his grasp around the Mirialan's hands.

His eyes began to glow faintly, as he lowered his head to conceal the light, and only a moment later the Kiffar let go and returned his gaze back at the Scout, and nodded. "So, you're one of them. This... is good. Better than I expected." the Kiffar said as he lifted his hand up to his chin. The way he said "them" was curious. Did he know? The Mirialan didn't know if he had just made a grave mistake or not, but he had truly never felt a panic like he was now. He looked to the exit, and shifted his attention back to the Vos whom now had a smile on his face. "You know, I'll need your help, and your friend's too. I have the information I need now, and with you and your friend, this will be easier now. I don't assume that other new-commer is with you, eh?" the Kiffar said, but before Zasm could respond, his comlink went off with the familiar Jedi's voice escaping from it. His eyes shifted across the cantina, as he saw her, and turned back to see that his Kiffar friend had already left. Odd...

"Uh.. I think we're in trouble. I'm not really sure. This mysterious guy came up to me, claimed to be a Vos -- a Guardian from Kiffex. He said we would be a great help. He was just here, and he disappeared, don't know where the frack he went." he said trying to fill his partner in, as the song reached it's end-point, though he managed to get most of his message through the veil of the loud music. "Where you able to find anything out?" he said, as he go up from his seat to get a refil for his drink.

__________________________________​

Mythris Vos' cloaked figure paced through the near-by forest of he city as he used the canopy of trees to move through it. It was lightly guarded, no more than six or so guards now in the forest clearing. Three pilots, and an investigator and his two guards. Mythris simply held a grin on his face, as he reached within his cloak to reach for his blaster, overpassing a cylindrical weapon more-well known to the Jedi or the Sith for example. The lightsaber was a family heirloom, something he wasn't too familiar using, but was quick to scare lowly criminals on Kiffex, as well as a good tool for getting around. Still, he reached for his blaster, a DL-44. A timeless heavy blaster pistol. He removed it from it's holster, as he reached with his free hand for something else -- a pair of grenades that barely fit in his palms.

He tossed the one on top first, as it rolled in the middle of the group which was following the Inspector -- the man in charge of the guard duty. It made a loud clank as it slowly rolled into the center of the group -- a perfect throw, it was all in the wrists after all. As the air around them almost instantly froze, their skin was quickly covered by a layer of thin ice, keeping them solidly frozen by the cryoban grenade. One managed to escape though -- the Inspector himself, who had turned to see where the grenade came from, seeing no-one. He was now a few meters away from his frozen comrades As he reached for a visor on his belt, and his weapon. Vos himself wasted no time as he threw the next grenade, this time a little off as it landed behind the Inspector. Still, it was within it's radius as a sticky foam began to coat over the Inspector, pulling him closer to the ground, effectively trapping him. The hidden Kiffar then jumped from out of the canopy of trees and closer to the clearing and make-shift landing where they forced the intruder in. The Inspector began to shout, as Mythris ignored him, He simply stepped closer to the now-confiscated ship. He noticed a datapad on the floor that the inspector dropped mid-run. He picked it up, reading it a bit and noticed that the Inspector had already found out their intruder was, or could be a Jedi. The Kiffar crushed the datapad easily within the grasp of his hand, as he turned to the Inspector.

He'd have to make him forget what he knew, or kill him. Either way, the Jedi could not be found out on Kiffar. Had the Sith even caught wind of Jedi, both planets would be besieged and that was something no planet would want, especially Kiffex, who wanted nothing to do with the evil Sith. Unfortunately, they couldn't openly embrace the Jedi either at a time like this, their proximity to the border was far too delicate for idealism.

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina was rather disturbed by the news her companion presented to her. Not only had a stranger approached him but he had claimed the name Vos. She was well aware of that name, as she had studied history and much of it. Nevertheless, it was a famous name and many a people could go around claiming to be a Vos. What was more interesting was how that man had decided to approach her companion and what exactly did he know.

"I didn't find much," she finally replied. "I did use the Force to control a guard and get him to set up a meeting with an official for me. I presented myself as a reporter. I do believe that my ability will hold through even with me away. He was rather weak minded. Nevertheless, we should be cautious. I told that man that he could find me here once he had arranged a meeting for me, but you should stay aside and follow from a distance, so if anything would happen to me, it would not happen to you. Ultimately, I believe that interview might be a key, unless you've made a revelation of your own and have something to add." She expected her counterpart would have a better idea than her, but decided to convey hers first, so that he would have it in might as he went along explaining his.

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"An interview with a journalist," the commander said with a distasteful tone. "Have you completely lost your mind, Brondarr?" The guard seemed to be at a loss. He had no idea why he wanted to set up the meeting with the journalist, he only knew he had to do it. At that moment the cabinet's door burst open and another guard waked inside. "Lord Rowan, sir, the prisoner has escaped, we know not where he has gone, but he has disarmed and knocked out his interrogator and the guards stationed outside his cell." The commander stood up from his chair, his face reddening. "Am I surrounded by incompetent fools," he screamed in the face of the second guard, who had been foolish enough to approach the desk. "Not only was there an intruder in storage facility, but a journalist wants and interview and now the prisoner has escaped?!"

Both guards looks anxiously at one another and took a few steps away from the desk. The lord was rather tall and well built. His face was always frowning and he was ever displeased with the work of his inferiors. True enough he was the nephew of the governor, but he was a tyrant of his own accord. There wasn't a single man that did not fear him, but it was not for his strength, or for his power, but for his wisdom and treachery.

"Alright then," he finally said as he dropped back into his seat, his face slightly relaxing, yet looking as intimidating as always. "Bring me this journalist and make sure the men are prepared to detain her the moment she walks in. I want all men outside of this office to be on the lookout for the escaped prisoner and the intruder, but to keep it quiet. No word should spread beyond the ears of our men." He turned around in his chair, looking out the wide window behind his desk. "I am beginning to think that there is a connection between these three incidents today. My plan is near completion and I shall not take failure lightly. Make sure you do not fail me, officers."

The two men nodded, saluted and walked out of the room as quickly as they could. Once outside they spared a moment to regain their breaths and courage. "Darren, you send the message to all forces in the field and make sure all security systems are active. I'll prepare the man in here for the trap for the journalist and go get her," Brondarr said as he finally found the words to speak. The yelling of his superior had startled him so much, he imagined himself ending up like the previous officer that occupied his post - mutilated to a near death state and then used as a ginue pig for the lord's experiments. Darren, who quickly set off to complete his tasks, had had a similar vision in his head.

 

[Apocrypha]

Rorik was no stranger to the idea of being captured behind enemy lines, and, as such, was a force to be reckoned with when held captive; with very little fuss, he slipped his pursuers - leading them on a chase most merry before disappearing entirely - and began the semi-arduous trudge from the compound that he had been held in back to the major city that he had initially docked in, and where his comrades most likely were. No matter how he racked his brains inbetween ducking into underbrush and ditches to avoid patrols both air and ground, Rorik couldn't come up with a way to make contact with either of them.

Had he his utility belt, he could have sent out an emergency broadcast on a Jedi-specific frequency, which they were likely to intercept. He could also have used his datapad to set up a communication between the temple and himself via the HoloNet, and they would then have contacted the other two Jedi. However, he was considerably far from his ship - where all of his gear was being held - and, besides that, it would likely be heavily guarded until they moved it somewhere more secure.

Turning his mind towards his own survival, Rorik sneaked his way into the large city after quite some time hoofing it through the wilderness. The first thing he did was pick a small townhouse that had settled down for the night and pick the lock on their front door, quietly snaking a pair of clothes and a blaster tucked inside of a drawer where the kids couldn't find it. Now somewhat disguised and armed, the young Jedi proceeded into the city, hoping against all likelihood to stumble upon his fellow Jedi.

 

[Insoulent]

The Vos smirked as he trailed his hands across the ship, able to feel everything the Jedi had done within it's confines. Albeit a bit creepy, so was the life of an investigator. He lifted his hand up, as his glowing eyes faded away, and he inspected his now-bloodied knuckles. He kept the grin on his face as he turned back outside to look at the bloody mess of the inspector that led this small team. He reached over to him, pulling a transparipad from his now-cold hands, and placing it within his cloak, steppin back into the ship. It would give him vital information coming from the enemy group, and an upper hand against stopping them, and it seemed his Mirialan friend and his companions would be in trouble soon -- the patrols were getting heavier. He sat back behind the console of the ship, sliding his hands over it to "feel" the ship. He could only help but smile. The three lonely patrol crafts were now pilotless as they'd been frozen under a cryoban grenade, allowing the Kiffar to take off with the ship quite easily. It zoomed just above the tree canopy of trees. From this elevation, very few sensors would actually be able to locate him, but he'd by no means be invisible to the sentient eye.

Tapping some controls, he connected to the direct line of the ship's owner, "Rorik". "Your friends... they're going to get ambushed. The Guardians of this planet are rushing to clear a cell for them. You did pretty good on your own, gotta say I'm impressed. I got your ship. I'm leaving it just outside the city, my contacts here had a warehouse where you can hide it for now. Listen, I want to help you, I haven't touched anything else but the control console to get it away from the guys trying to confiscate it. We can help save your friends from an ambush, you just have to help me too. Let's just say we have similar interests. I'm sending you the co-ordinates to meet, don't worry I'll be alone." the Kiffar finished, hoping this "Rorik" was someone who could trust easily. Then again, he didn't have much of a choice, anyway, right? He'd just have to work his way around a few patrols, but that was nothing to a Jedi, they killed Sith for Force's sake.

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"Well, I'm probably being looked for just about everywhere by now. You.. you're our only way in. That mysterious Kiffar left... we don't really have much choice against it, now do we?" he explained, as he leaned back in his chair a bit frustrated. They had the proof, but how exactly could they tackle the situation? Wait, a new-commer, what did he mean by that? "Wait, he said something about a new-commer... you don't think Rorik's come, do you? If so, we'd have two sabers instead of one, and that's always good." he mentioned, then again they didn't exactly know where he was either.

"I'm going to go look for him, see if it is him. Maybe he'll have a better plan, right? Look, go to that meeting. There's a microfilmer in that droid, it can record video and audio, it's an ear and eye piece. Just incase something happens to the droid, we need to record anything and everything this guy tells you, if he tells you anything. It'll be the only way to get incriminating evidence. Tell the droid to tail me after I leave, I need him for a while." he said, as he stood up from his chair, droppin a few credits.

He tossed his shoulder cape over his head, which so happen to double as a fine head cover and hood, concealing his face. He made his walk back to the main street into the city, as some moments, the prowler droid returned to it's master. The man smiled as his companion droid returned. "Since I can't get too close... I need you to scan the area. Any sign of Rorik, and come back to me." he muttered. The droid itself had never met Rorik, but Zasm was smart enough to pre-install some facial recognition of both the Jedi joining him in the mission before they left the Temple. This way it could keep an eye on the three of them in cases such as these. And without any other order needed, the Prowler droid went off to hunt for it's target.

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina kept true to her seat while waiting for the droid to return hoping it would before the man came to take her to the interview. The Force was not with her that day. The man was the first to arrive. He put his hand on her shoulder and she flinched. She had to play the part of a journalist and no journalist would have seen him approach her through a crowd like that, yet a jedi would easily sense his presence and his trouble mind... something was not right.

"If you would follow me, my lady, I have arranged your interview," Brondarr said with a sly smile on his face that was even more incriminating than his thoughts. She had to think of something quickly but only one idea came to her mind and she did not like it. Nevertheless, desperate times called for desperate measures, so she decided to play her part and try to be even more journalistic than she had initially planned to. She placed her hand on top of the mans and looked into his eyes, forcing herself to smile as genuinely as she could. "Allow me to buy you a drink first, officer, it is the least I could do for the man who's ready to risk his job for me." Her voice didn't come out as seductive as she had hoped but she stressed the word 'man' enough to intrigue the guard. He returned her smile and sat beside her.

She thought about using another mind trick but considering the troubled mind of the man, she preferred to have him use that instead of a controlled one, for it could save her. His thoughts were her trump card. She was beginning to suspect a trap but she couldn't be certain and if it wasn't a trap it was best for his colleagues to not see him act too awkwardly. Using the mind trick the first time had been dangerous enough. This time she would have to use her wits. All she hoped was that the droid would return to her before the man had finished his drink.